1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to land vehicles, and more particularly to a seal for dump bed doors that prevents leakage of material through gaps, bends and irregular openings between the dump bed door and an adjoining surface.
2. Background and Description of Prior Art
A common problem with vehicles having dump beds, primarily “belly dump” trucks and “dump trucks” is that they leak material from the dump bed onto the roadway. This problem is also prevalent with over the road and railroad type hopper vehicles such as the type that carry grain, sawdust, coal and other bulk goods.
Such leaks are dangerous because rocks, gravel, sand and the like leaking onto the roadway from a moving vehicle may become airborne projectiles leading to injuries, broken windshields, accidents and other undesirable occurrences. A small continuous leak over a period of time may also lead to loss of a substantial quantity of product such as grain.
Various federal and state agencies including Departments of Transportation (DOT) prohibit vehicles that are leaking material from operating on roadways because of the risks caused thereby. Owners and operators of vehicles having leaking dump beds are subject to significant fines and other penalties. For instance leakage of coal onto railroad track beds has lead to the designation of some railroad track beds as hazardous waste sites.
Leaks most frequently occur because there are gaps between a dump bed door and an adjoining surface against which the dump bed door is normally retained in a sealed relationship. Bends, gouges, dents and irregular openings may be formed in the dump bed door and adjoining surfaces when material such as grain, rocks, gravel, sand, coal, asphalt and the like is dropped into the dump bed during loading. The impact of material dropped into the dump bed, and the stresses caused by the weight thereof, frequently causes bends and the like in the dump bed doors, tailgates and adjoining surfaces creating undesirable gaps that prevent the dump bed doors, tailgates and door panels from flushly seating against adjoining surfaces to prevent leaks. Such damage may also loosen the attachment of the dump bed doors and tailgates such that the dump bed doors and tailgates vibrate and shake during vehicle operation accentuating wear and tear that may increase the size of any gaps and openings as well as cause build up of static electricity which may lead to fire risks. As can be expected, older belly dump trucks, dump trucks and hopper type vehicles are more prone to leakage than newer vehicles.
Various apparatus and seals to prevent material contained in a dump bed from leaking therefrom are known, but such apparatus and seals all have drawbacks. Known apparatus include troughs and pans that are carried below the dump bed opening to catch material falling therefrom. Known seals include inflatable bladders that require a pneumatic system to operate and are subject to being punctured. Other known seals are gaskets that require placement directly between two closely adjacent opposing surfaces to be squeezed therebetween.
What is needed is a device that effectively seals gaps and irregular openings between a dump bed door and adjoining dump bed surface to prevent leakage of materials therethrough. The device must be durable, easy to install and must seal existing gaps as well as newly formed gaps and irregular openings including small gaps through which particulate matter, such as sand, may leak.
My dump bed door seal resolves various of the aforementioned drawbacks and provides a seal for repetitively opening dump bed doors that prevents leakage of material carried within the dump bed through gaps, bends and irregular openings between a dump bed door and an adjacent dump bed door or dump bed surface. My seal is retrofittable on dump beds to seal existing gaps, bends and irregular openings and is resiliently deformable to seal new gaps, bends and irregular openings that develop even after the sealing member is installed. My dump bed door seal is durable, it is easy to install and it does not require a pneumatic system. My dump bed door seal may be installed in the field with commonly available tools and does not require positioning directly between two adjacent opposing surfaces so as to be compressed therebetween to form a seal. Further, my dump bed door seal is not affected by heated material, such as asphalt and readily seals openings through which small particulate matter such as grain, sand, saw-dust and the like may leak.
My invention does not reside in any one of the identified features individually but rather in the synergistic combination of all of its structures, which give rise to the functions necessarily flowing therefrom as hereinafter specified and claimed.